Blog Posts

thefabricator.com has a team of bloggers that cover the challenges and rewards associated with a life in metal fabricating. Topics typically addressed by contributing authors include political and demographic trends affecting the fabricating industry, the business side of running a job shop, the culture of the welding community, and detailed looks at what happens on the shop floor.

I'm fascinated by this story unfolding in Fond du Lac, Wis. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 1947 voted to reject a new Mercury Marine contract on Aug. 23. The marine equipment manufacturer said thanks for the memories and announced a move of its...

If you're connected to the wind energy business or are looking to get your foot in the door, you're probably thinking about two things: 1. You're tired of cheesy puns in article headlines (like the one above). 2. You are hoping investors start embracing the business again....

When you are laid off from two separate companies in a six-month time span, you have to sit back and think long and hard about your career path. That's where a 25-year-old welder found himself earlier this year. He found a scholarship opportunity at Missouri State University that allows the...

It was a good week for tube, at least as far as I am concerned. I am always on the lookout for any chance to get out of the office and see tube or pipe applications, and I had two such opportunities this week.
First off, the local elementary school needed a new play area. The old one was...

The August issue of "Stamping News Brief" (SNB) featured comments from an SNB reader responding to an item in the previous month's issue about employment in the metal stamping sector. This reader said, "I am soon to be unemployed, and there are really not many prospects around here for employment...

I understand the term's intent, and that it describes workers who are ever-more-valued. I just have reservations about how the term is used. When people think of a "knowledge worker," they think of a white-collar IT professional, engineer, doctor, or others who think to innovate, using their...

I came across this story earlier this week and was reminded just how important it is for metal fabricators to open their doors to the community, in particular elected officials and government bureaucrats.In this case, Karen Mills, an administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA),...

Buried within the Institute for Supply Management™'s July Manufacturing ISM Report on Business® is a telling quote from a metal fabricator."No stimulus for manufacturing." Technically, the government has set aside a bit of money. On Thursday the Treasury Department revealed...

I'm still recovering from a visit to Washington, D.C. It's not that I was taxed to death, even though I left with an empty wallet, or that I was roughed up during an angry AARP demonstration. It's just difficult to immerse myself back into the work world after being more than 750...

According to early results of yesterday's "Fabricating Update" survey that asked metal fabricating industry professionals where their companies stand in the recession cycle, 32.5 percent are in serious pain, and 67.5 percent see signs of recovery.For an industry plagued with declining...

The numbers popping up in the media recently draw an interesting, perhaps conflicted picture of the state of business in the U.S. Here's why.First, there's unemployment. Like many, I expected the unemployment rate to continue its relentless rise past the symbolic 10 percent mark. It...

Ask 10 people what they enjoy most about summer and you"ll get 10 different answers. Ask 10 people how they measure summer, and I"ll bet you"ll also get 10 different, and probably more interesting, answers. I suppose the younger-than-10-years-old set can"t quite wrap their arms around the endless...

Manufacturers are mad as Hades and speaking out about what they believe to be the lack of support from the Obama Administration.Dr. Chris Kuehl, economic analyst for the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International (FMA), said he has yet to see "anything remotely resembling a policy" from...

I talked with a metal fabricator this week that installed a precision punch press with a six-station tapping unit about four years ago. The turret punch has been working hard the past several years, but the company finally has gotten around to working with the tapping unit. It"s incredible how big...

The metal fabricating industry is made up of highly skilled, hard-working individuals who are passionate about their work and proud of what they create. But every now and then, along comes a slacker who does a half-backside job and creates all kinds of problems. Such is the case with the Northrop...

Recent Blog Posts

Things change and businesses move. Change and moving aren’t always easy, but acceptance and good planning can help make the transition as seamless and painless as possible. Remember, it is what it is. Make the best of it.

STAMPING Journal

STAMPING Journal is the only industrial publication dedicated solely to serving the needs of the metal stamping market. In 1987 the American Metal Stamping Association broadened its horizons and renamed itself and its publication, known then as Metal Stamping.